Install unoserver with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• unocompare
• unoconvert
• unoping
• unoserver

Project history

The project grew around LibreOffice's UNO listener mode. Its upstream package metadata describes it as a production/stable POSIX/Linux Python project with scripts for `unoserver`, conversion, comparison, and pinging a running server.

The changelog shows a steady 2021-2026 evolution from a server/converter pair into a small client-server toolkit. Version 2.0 beta in 2023 was the major architectural step: the client became lightweight and communicated with an XML-RPC server, so client systems no longer needed LibreOffice or the UNO library installed. Later releases added document comparison, filter options, service-management aids, timeouts, HTTPS transport, protected-document support, and `unoping`.

Adoption history

The supplied Homebrew metadata packages it with four command-line entry points: `unocompare`, `unoconvert`, `unoping`, and `unoserver`. That reflects adoption by users who need repeatable document conversion in scripts and services rather than a desktop LibreOffice workflow.

unoserver also lives in the `unoconv` GitHub organization and uses `unoconv` as a project keyword in its package metadata, tying it to the older Unix tradition of wrapping LibreOffice/OpenOffice conversion behind CLI tools.

How it is used

The README frames the normal usage as starting `unoserver` on an interface and port, then using client commands to request document conversion, comparison, or status checks. It also documents client/server deployments where only the server needs LibreOffice's Python/UNO environment, while clients can send files or paths over the XML-RPC API.

The README warns that the service has no security on the exposed ports and must not be reachable outside the intended server stack. That operational note is central to how package users deploy it: behind local service managers, inside controlled automation, or on a dedicated conversion host.

Why package nerds care

unoserver is interesting to package maintainers because it is not just a converter binary; it must run under a Python environment that can import LibreOffice's UNO bindings. The README devotes substantial space to finding the correct LibreOffice Python and to system versus bundled LibreOffice installs, which is exactly the sort of path and runtime coupling that package-manager users notice.

Its 2.x client-server split reduced that packaging pain for client machines. In package-nerd terms, it turns LibreOffice conversion from a heavyweight local dependency into a service boundary, while keeping a small set of Unix-style commands for automation.

Timeline

• 2021: Changelog records 1.1 with module entry points and LibreOffice shutdown handling.
• 2023: 1.4 adds document comparison; 2.0 beta introduces the XML-RPC server and lightweight client architecture.
• 2024: 2.x releases add absolute-path handling, filter selection, IPv6 support, retries, version checks, and crash handling.
• 2025: 3.x releases add HTTPS client/server support, stop-after behavior, password conversion support, and `unoping`.
• 2026: 3.7 adds temporary-directory control, LibreOffice version reporting through `unoping`, and logging fixes.

Related projects

• LibreOffice is the conversion engine. The project name, GitHub organization, and package keywords relate it to unoconv, the older command-line LibreOffice conversion wrapper.

Sources

• https://github.com/unoconv/unoserver/blob/master/CHANGES.rst
• https://github.com/unoconv/unoserver/blob/master/README.rst
• https://github.com/unoconv/unoserver/blob/master/pyproject.toml
• source_facts.package-manager